


Girls Like Us

by Ray_Writes



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: s03e08 The Brave and the Bold, Gen, hinted Lauriver, hinted Westallen, mentioned Raylicity, mentioned Westhawne
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-27 03:23:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19782238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ray_Writes/pseuds/Ray_Writes
Summary: Iris decides to investigate further following the Flash's attack on Eddie; Laurel makes her case and an important decision; Barry learns a lesson in how to treat the woman he pines for; and Oliver re-evaluates some of the conventional wisdom he's been passing on.





	Girls Like Us

**Author's Note:**

> No real explanation for this except I hate that Iris and Laurel never got to be friends, and I hate the whole "Iris can't know" and "guys like us don't get the girl" mentalities from season 1 of Flash, so I decided to fix both. Hopefully people like, and thanks for reading!

She didn’t know what to do at first. The truth was, Iris wasn’t sure what to make of the Flash’s apology. Was it sincere? Was he still dangerous? How could she trust a person she didn’t really know?

There was no one she could talk to about it. Eddie knew, of course, but the last thing she wanted him to do was decide to take on the fastest man alive in some attempt to champion her honor or something. Her dad didn’t believe in the Flash. Neither did Barry, or if he did he’d probably tell her this was all her fault for continuing her blog anyway. Of course a vigilante would be interested in a person writing about them, trying to get in contact with them.

Iris had actually seen two vigilantes up close now, factoring in the Arrow’s surprise appearance during that terrible attack. For all the negative press about him, she’d been glad he intervened.

And that was when she had the idea.

Iris spent the next few days researching the Arrow. He was well-established within his city and had contact with people; even the police, it was rumored. In amongst them all there had to be someone…

In a number of old articles and postings on blogs — okay, mostly Barry’s, which come to think of it, why was it okay for  _ him _ to write about vigilantes? — she kept coming across one name in particular. The name of a woman whose experiences seemed to track pretty well with Iris’ current situation: Dinah Laurel Lance.

Starting a couple years ago, the woman had seemingly been in infrequent contact with the vigilante, mostly to do with court cases. There was even one incident involving her being kidnapped by a criminal who wanted to lure out the Arrow, the same as how Tony Woodward had held Iris hostage to try and bait the Flash. For some reason, her name sounded familiar, but Iris was sure she hadn’t been reading up on anything Arrow-related before all of this.

She was the ADA of Starling City. It could be a long shot to try and get some time with the woman to ask her questions. But Iris was going to give it a good try before she gave up. She couldn’t seriously consider herself an up and coming reporter if that wasn’t the case.

She put in for some time off the next week. Fortunately she hadn’t gotten her schedule from Jitters yet. Then she had to inform her boyfriend and her dad about the trip. Iris decided to knock those both out at once and visited them at the precinct.

Her dad looked up at her approach with a smile. “Hey, baby. Wasn’t expecting you.”

“Yeah, just wanted to stop by.” She took hold of Eddie’s hand and squeezed it once before letting go, about the tamest greeting she could give without making her father grumpy. And she did not want him grumpy right now. “I’m planning a trip for next week. It’s for an article I’m trying to put together.”

“What’s the article about?” Eddie asked.

“I’m not sure yet,” Iris admitted. “Depends on what I find out.”

“So where is this trip to?” Her father asked.

Iris kept her tone even as she replied, “Starling City.”

That got a frown and a worried look from her dad and her boyfriend, respectively.

“Iris, Starling’s not exactly what you call safe,” her dad began.

“Hey, Barry went up there last year and nothing happened,” she pointed out. For some reason, her father’s frown deepened. “It’s not like I’m planning to wander through alleys at night.”

“Who are you interviewing?” Eddie interrupted before her dad could reply to that. She knew by his tone he was attempting to be peacemaker, but this was all starting to feel like an interrogation. It was their nature as detectives, she knew that.

“The Assistant District Attorney. So I will be sticking to City Hall.”

Both men relaxed at those words, even if her father still didn’t look happy about it.

“For the record, I’m not asking permission. I’m just letting you both know where I’m going to be. I’ll see you for dinner tonight,” she told Eddie.

With a wave goodbye, Iris walked out of the bullpen. She stopped by Barry’s lab to see if she could catch him, but he was out. It was hard finding her best friend these days.

Over the next few days, she packed and drafted some questions, a process that involved writing, erasing, and rewriting ad nauseam. Her nerves started to build up, and Iris had to admit that outside of the Flash himself, she didn’t have much interview experience. But she’d already bought her train ticket.

She arrived in Starling on a Wednesday in the late afternoon, since her boss had needed her to put in some morning hours at Jitters first. The city didn’t seem that bad during the day, though it definitely had a different feel to it than Central which was hard to put into words. She made her way to City Hall as quickly as she could.

Whoever usually manned the front desk of the floor dedicated to the DA’s office had taken an early day, it seemed, so Iris did her best quick march into the back area where the individual offices were located. She was glad she’d dressed up a little more professional than usual since it made her stand out less.

By reading the signs, she found herself outside the right office. A woman sat with her back to the door on a computer while a file sat open in front of her. Her blonde hair hung in loose waves down her back.

Iris couldn’t exactly get a read on her or the situation, but it was too late for turning back now. She took a deep breath.

“ADA Lance?”

The woman turned in her chair to face the door, a quizzical smile turning up the corner of her mouth. “Hello.”

“Hi.” Iris took a small step into the office. “My name’s Iris West, and I’m — well, I’m trying to be a reporter.”

ADA Lance’s face scrunched up. “I’m sorry, our office isn’t making any statements to the press on current cases.”

“No, that’s okay,” Iris said, waving a hand. God, this was nerve-wracking! “I’m not here about that. I just was wondering if I could talk to you about, um, vigilantes?”

“Vigilantes.”

“Yeah. Well, you know the Arrow, right?”

“Yes,” the woman agreed slowly.

Okay, this was bad. She was probably freaking her out. Time to get personable. “Great. See, the thing is, this isn’t exactly for an article,” Iris told her. “It’s for me, because I think I’m going through some of the same stuff you have, and I could really use some advice.”

The ADA had one eyebrow raised, and the other looked ready to join it. “With the Arrow?”

“No. I’m from Central City, and there’s a new vigilante there. Not a lot of people know about him, but I kind of started writing about him. I thought what he was doing was important. Good. He noticed that I was writing about him.”

“And then he visited you?” ADA Lance guessed. Iris nodded. “Why don’t you sit down?”

Iris did so with a sigh of relief, and the ADA briefly rose to shut her office door before taking her chair again.

“Thank you so much. I know this must sound crazy.”

“Well, like you said, I have some experience,” the other woman noted. “I haven’t heard anything about this vigilante, so you’ll have to catch me up.”

That she could do. “Okay, so he goes by the Flash, and he first showed up in October. At least, that’s when I first noticed him. The thing is, he’s kind of different from the Arrow. He has, um, super speed?”

Iris watched the woman blink in surprise. “Super speed.”

“I swear I’m not joking. It’s why people haven’t really heard about him. He’s too fast to be caught.” Not for the first time, Iris wished she had a good photo of him to show as proof. “But I saw him in action one night and started writing a blog about it. Then he came to see me.”

“What about?”

“Well, at first he said it wasn’t a good idea for me to be writing about him. I don’t think he really believed it. Or at least, he didn’t act like he was mad.” If anything, he’d been friendly, even a little flirty, Iris was embarrassed to admit to herself. She was committed to Eddie, but the thrill of getting to talk to a real life superhero was hard to ignore. At least before it had all gone wrong.

“The thing is,” Iris said, trying to cut to the chase so she could stop thinking about that. “Last week he attacked my boyfriend. The Arrow had to save us. The Flash claimed after that he hadn’t meant to and it wouldn’t happen again, but I told him we were done. I was just so scared. And I mean, how do I know he’ll listen? What happens when you’re no longer on good terms with a vigilante?”

There was a pause. She knew she’d just thrown a lot at the other woman. Iris tried her best to wait patiently as the ADA collected her thoughts.

“The unfortunate reality is that the nature of a vigilante means that there’s little legal recourse available to you. Even without the identity question, a restraining order would likely hold little sway. Particularly if he does have this  _ ability  _ you mentioned.”

Iris looked down. “Yeah. I should have guessed.”

“Iris, that doesn’t mean I’m not going to use everything I’ve got to help you.” The woman reached across the desk and lightly touched her hand. She looked back up into warm, green eyes. “I have been exactly where you are right now, and it is terrifying not knowing if you’re really safe or who you can trust. I’m glad you came to see me for help.”

“Well, now I’m glad I did, too, ADA Lance.”

“It’s Laurel,” the ADA told her.

“Laurel,” Iris repeated with a smile. “I’ve got to admit, I was kind of taking a shot in the dark coming out here, but I already feel better.”

“Let me try and actually do something first before you go saying that. You said the Arrow stopped him?”

“Yeah. I have no idea what he was even doing in Central, but if he hadn’t been…”

Laurel gave a solemn nod. “I know. But that’s why he does what he does.” She drew in and let out a breath as she leaned back in her chair. “Okay, I will reach out to see what his intel on this Flash is and whether you and your boyfriend are going to need additional protection.”

“You would do that? Talk to the Arrow for me?”

“He’s not as scary as he wants people to think,” Laurel remarked wryly. “And there have been multiple instances when he’s cooperated with law enforcement here. Speaking of, I have a couple of requests to deliver down at the precinct before this evening.” She glanced at the clock on her computer before standing up. “But the minute that is done, I will get to work on your case. Sorry, your issue.”

“Case is fine,” Iris said with a wave of the hand. She got up as well. “I wasn’t sure how long I was going to be here, so I guess I better go see about hotels.”

“I will do my best to get you an update as soon as possible,” Laurel promised. She walked around and held out her phone. “If you just give me your number, I’ll call you once I know something.”

“Great, thanks so much.” Iris entered her contact information, unable to help noting as she handed the phone back the rather impressive arms Starling City’s ADA had. Did she do Cross Fit?

Iris let Laurel show her out of the building, and the two parted ways on the sidewalk after the woman pointed her in the direction of the nearest, but reasonably priced hotel. God, had she gotten lucky. Iris was starting to wonder what her dad’s problem with the city was. The people were friendly enough, judging by her and Barry’s experiences!

—-

Iris West had given Laurel a lot to think about. She did empathize with the other woman’s situation a great deal, remembering the few times where she had felt unsure of the Arrow’s true intentions before knowing his identity. She’d been lucky he really had been a friend all along.

And Iris has been lucky Oliver had been in Central to rescue her and her boyfriend. Laurel had seen a news report about him being spotted in their sister city. She hadn’t gotten the chance to ask what that trip had been about, and truthfully had doubted she’d get much of an answer if she tried.

But now she had a client of sorts, which changed things. Whatever Oliver and the others knew about this mysterious Flash, she was going to have to find out.

So she drew up short in the middle of a fairly tame debate with her father on the relative speed of his officers when she caught sight of Oliver himself standing in the precinct. There was a younger man with him she’d never met before.

Oliver introduced him as Barry Allen, a friend from Central City who was looking for information on one of his father’s former arrests. And if he was here with Oliver...

“Oliver, can I talk to you for a second?” Laurel asked.

He nodded his assent. They walked out of earshot, though Laurel kept her voice pitched softer in the precinct nonetheless. “The Arrow was in Central City last week.”

“This is a follow up,” he told her. “Kind of.”

Laurel glanced back at Barry Allen just as Oliver did, and then she looked to her old friend again. If she knew anything about Oliver, it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume his new friend from Central was mixed up in all this Flash business.

“I think I might need to borrow him, too.”

Oliver’s brow furrowed. “Wait, what?”

But Laurel was already marching back over. “Barry, hi again.”

“Hi?” He seemed bemused more than anything, especially when she took his arm.

“I was hoping to get your opinion on a couple matters before you head out. Okay if I borrow an interrogation room, dad?”

Her father shrugged. “Fine by me.”

Barry Allen walked along with her easily enough. “Okay, is this about police work? I mean, it’s not an actual interrogation, right?”

Oliver caught the door as it swung shut and followed them in uninvited. That was fine. She might need him anyway.

“Laurel, we don’t really have time right now.”

“I have a client that would say differently. So, the Flash,” she pronounced. “Do you know him or  _ are _ you him?”

Barry Allen’s mouth dropped open. It would be almost comical if not for the little she knew about his alter ego already. “How- how did you—”

She saw him dart a panicked look in Oliver’s direction. “It’s fine, I know he’s the Arrow.”

“But you didn’t know if Barry did,” Oliver said with gritted teeth.

“If you were bringing him to get information about a case, he obviously knows your identity. This isn’t your day job,” she pointed out.

“But nobody even knows about the Flash back home,” Barry insisted.

“There’s an aspiring reporter who does.” Laurel crossed her arms. “Care to explain why she came to my office terrified a man with super speed is going to kill her boyfriend?”

Barry’s face seemed to drain of all color. “Iris came to see you?”

“I’d be careful with the familiars.”

“No, no, I know her! She’s my best friend, we grew up together,” he explained in a rush.

“Laurel, Barry isn’t dangerous,” Oliver said, stepping in. “Because of the particle accelerator explosion in his city, it’s given people abilities.”

“They’re called metahumans,” Barry interjected.

“One of them used his on Barry’s last week to increase his anger. I helped Barry’s team to get a cure to him. Iris is safe.”

They both clearly thought the matter settled. Aside from the information dump, Laurel was getting a horrible sense of deja vu.

“How come she doesn’t know that?”

“I tried to tell her—” Barry began.

“And she should listen to the masked stranger that attacked her? Why haven’t you told Iris yourself?”

Barry looked at her oddly. “Well, because Iris doesn’t know I’m the Flash.”

“I got that. Why doesn’t she know?” Laurel crosses her arms. “She’s your best friend, isn’t she? And why attack your best friend and her boyfriend?”

Oliver had one hand half-raised in a signal that he thought she should stop. Laurel pretended she had lost her peripheral vision and continued to stare Barry Allen down.

He squirmed around a bit, then said. “Look, the thing is — I’m not proud of it, but I- I was jealous of Eddie. Am jealous of Eddie. Because I — Iris—”

Laurel let her head fall back and closed her eyes while she counted down from ten. She wasn’t sure if it was to stop herself laughing or screaming.

“You know, I — but she doesn’t have to worry about that. She and Eddie are good together,” Barry continued to babble. “And I know — I mean, guys like me and- and Oliver, we don’t really get the girl.”

He glanced to Oliver near the end of that sentence in clear hope for support. Laurel slowly turned her head towards Oliver as well, who shifted uncomfortably as their eyes met. In that moment, he seemed ready to flee back to his island yet again.

“Really. One protege isn’t enough?”

Oliver pressed his lips together and said nothing. Laurel turned back to an increasingly confused Barry Allen.

“Alright, take a little advice from someone who has  _ been _ ‘the girl’.” She nearly put the words in actual quote marks, it was so ridiculous. “Since you have decided to embark on a life of vigilantism with  _ training from Oliver—” _ The last three words came out through gritted teeth. Sure, she wasn’t allowed to get training, but some random guy with unresolved jealousy issues was. Made sense. “You’re going to go through life thinking you can’t have close relationships with the people you care about because it will put them in danger. You’re going to think you can’t get the girl because being a vigilante is incompatible with dating. And I am here to tell you that’s not true.”

Laurel took one step forward and watched Barry Allen gulp. It was practically audible. She reached out and prodded him in the chest.

“You don’t get the girl because you don’t respect her. You don’t trust her. If you did,” she added just as he opened his mouth to protest, “you would tell her the truth. You would treat her like an equal. Whether or not she returned your feelings.”

Iris was a beautiful woman. There were probably lots of men trying to ‘get’ her. And it was no wonder she was afraid of what a man with literal superpowers might do if provoked again. How did these people in masks never seem to understand that?

“So you can sabotage all of your personal relationships and then wonder why you are alone, or you can face up to your mistakes in person.” She fished out one of her cards and pushed it into his hands. “Give me a call if you want to talk to my client, and I will escort you to her myself.” She was not about to just give him the address and then trust he wouldn’t go over there in his vigilante persona to try and smooth things over without giving up any real ground.

With all that said, Laurel turned and marched to the door.

“You’re not going to tell her, are you?”

“You should wish I would. It would mean you wouldn’t have to.”

Laurel shoved the door open, catching one last look at Oliver’s face before the door swung closed. Rather than the closed off expression she would have expected after she’d verbally torn apart the very foundations of his behaviors as a vigilante in the past, he looked...contemplative. As much as she’d exposed him, she’d also revealed a lot of herself and her own feelings in that room. Laurel didn’t want to think about that right now.

Her chest was rising and falling rapidly like she’d just finished a workout, but passing by the window of her father’s office took the wind right out of her sails.

As much as she’d been lied to and kept from things in the past, there was a secret just as huge that she was holding onto. Was she just repeating the same mistakes? Doing what had been done to her? If she was going to take Oliver and his friend Barry to task, shouldn’t she hold herself to the same standard?

Laurel took two steps toward the office, then stopped. It was the middle of his shift. News like this, she couldn’t just say it and leave him to his grief.

She approached more slowly and tapped on the door frame. Her father looked up.

“Laurel, I promise, our guys are gonna get the reports to your office soon as they can.”

“I know, dad. Actually I, um, I wanted to know if you were free sometime. There’s something I want to talk with you about.”

His look changed and he took a couple steps forward. “Yeah? I’ve got a couple days next week.”

Next week. That would be closing in on the holidays, and with it Sara’s birthday. But she couldn’t put it off just because of that. No time would be a good time, she could admit now.

“Okay. Just let me know.”

“I will. You know, I’m glad you’re reaching out.”

Laurel looked down. “I know. I’m sorry I wasn’t ready before.” She backed away and left the office before he could reply. If she stayed, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to hold it in. And she had a client to focus on.

The truth was so painful sometimes, but Iris West had shown her how vital it was.

—-

Barry didn’t know what to do with himself in the wake of Laurel Lance. He felt like he’d just gone five rounds with a metahuman and lost, yet he’d barely moved from the spot where he’d been standing.

In only a few short minutes she had laid to waste months of Joe’s arguments as to why Iris couldn’t know the truth. And she’d laid into Oliver and his methodology as well.

His friend and partner didn’t look at all surprised, either. Barry had to wonder just how frequent an occurrence this was, and whether he ought to offer some kind of comfort or support. But the other vigilante just met his eyes and said, “We still need to track down Harkness’ contact.”

“Right,” Barry agreed.

When they did track the man down, he was confronted with Oliver’s particular brand of questioning up front, much to his horror. Sure, he’d interrogated the odd person or two as the Flash, but straight up  _ torture? _ He didn’t think he could ever condone that, no matter the reason.

And that really forced him to think. How much did he want to be doing things Oliver’s way or even Joe’s way? Both were men he held a tremendous about of respect for. But it was past time he recognized that he was a man as well. At the end of the day he was the face behind the Flash. What people saw was him, the few people that had seen him, that was. How did he want them to see him? Shouldn’t he make his own decisions about his life?

The attack Captain Boomerang launched on the base distracted him from these thoughts for a while, along with the threat of multiple bombs being placed around Starling City. But when that had been settled, the thoughts returned. Particularly in the wake of watching John Diggle with his partner — and now fiancee — Lyla Michaels.

Digg and Lyla were in the know about what was going on in each other’s lives. They didn’t always see eye to eye, but they talked about it as a couple. The only reason they could do that was because of honesty. They were partners in the truest sense of the word.

Iris was his best friend. He loved her. Of course he should be honest with her. In the past, he hadn’t confessed his feelings out of fear of rejection. Look where that had gotten him: on the outs watching her date someone else.

If he wanted Iris to consider him as more than her nerdy best friend, he had to show her what all he could be. Including the Flash.

Oliver offered to head out for a training session and spar to decide an ultimate winner in their friendly rivalry, but with a little regret Barry declined. He knew Oliver was seeking some assurance of their friendship after the strain from their earlier disagreement, but he wasn’t the only friend Barry needed to make things up to.

“Maybe next time,” he told the other vigilante. “I’ve got some other unfinished business in Starling City.”

Oliver’s eyebrows raised, but he otherwise made no comment, for which Barry was grateful. If Caitlin or Cisco got wind of what he was planning to do, they would likely protest or remind him of all the promises he’d made not to.

Barry left the Arrow Cave and took out the card he’d been given. ADA Dinah Laurel Lance had listed both a work and cell number, and at this time of night he figured he would have better luck with the latter.

It rang only twice before being picked up.

“ADA Lance speaking. Who is calling?”

“Um, hi. It’s Barry. Allen? We met earlier at the precinct?”

“Right. Can I ask why you’re calling?”

She really wasn’t going to make this easy on him, was she? He almost admired it.

“Because I think you were right about what you said. I need to be honest with Iris. Can I please speak to her?”

If he really wanted, he could search the whole city top to bottom. It might only take him an hour or so. But that didn’t seem fair or right to defy Iris’ privacy like that. If he wanted to show he respected her, he needed to act like it.

“How about I set up a meeting for the morning.”

Barry checked the time again and realized most people were probably asleep by this point.

“Oh. Right, sorry if I woke you up.”

“It’s fine, I just got home,” she told him. Was everyone in Starling City a night owl or something? “I’ll text you where and when to be.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“Just doing my job.” He almost hung up, but then heard her voice again. “Barry?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m glad you’re doing this. It’s not too late to make things right.”

He felt his shoulders relax, both from the words themselves and the warmth in her tone. “I hope so.”

Barry ran home to crash for the night and was up bright and early with a text from Laurel. Normally, his phone wasn’t enough to wake him, but he’d been tossing and turning trying to think of how to say what he needed to say to Iris. He’d resolved to hold onto his feelings for now. That wouldn’t be fair to her or Eddie.

He borrowed his new space in the Arrow Cave to leave the Flash suit while he changed into his clothes once he arrived. Then he jogged from the Glades to downtown, not wanting to risk a fire hazard if he ran.

As it was, he was a little late to the appointed time and place of their meeting. Laurel had picked a coffee shop — fitting considering his past meetings with Iris at Jitters — and he spotted the two of them sitting at a table against one of the walls. Iris drummed her fingers lightly without any real rhythm in that way she had when she was trying not to show she was impatient. Laurel looked up and spotted him as he pushed open the door.

Barry drew in a deep breath as she touched Iris’ arm to get her attention. Iris turned and saw him as well, her mouth falling open in shock as he approached their table. She stood just as he reached it. “Barry?”

“Iris. I am  _ so _ sorry. I should have told you from the start.”

One of Iris’ hands went over her mouth. The other slowly, tentatively reached out towards him, like she wasn’t sure if they touched he would really be there. Barry took hold of her hand loosely, giving her the opportunity to pull it away. But instead, she tugged him slowly to take the chair beside hers.

The explanation would be long, and not always easy. But there hadn’t just been shock and hurt in Iris’ eyes. There was something like wonder. And that, Barry knew, could carry him through anything.

—-

Since Barry had turned down his offer to train, Oliver had had a lot of time to think and reflect on everything that had happened during the speedster’s visit. As much as Barry insisted Oliver was still a good person despite some of his methods, he couldn’t help his own doubt.

Because the thing was, Laurel’s advice had been what stuck. Barry was planning to do the one thing Oliver had told him not to just the previous week; get closer to Iris West instead of letting her go for her own good, and for his.

And maybe that was fine. Hadn’t he himself told Barry the Flash could be better than the Arrow? Maybe Barry didn’t need to cut off his relationships to others if he was going to be a hero. He wasn’t meant to be his protege like Roy, who had broken up with Thea under Oliver’s instructions and left the both of them hurting for it. It had been about keeping her safe, not trust — but then, would that be how Thea would see it were she to ever know?

Oliver didn’t trust easily, but he’d never meant to give the impression that he didn’t trust his loved ones. Tommy, his mother and Laurel all found out on their own, true, and in the latter two cases it had brought him some measure of relief. Up until Sara’s death, he’d been happy with where he and Laurel were at in relation to each other. It had just felt right being able to work with her in cleaning up the city, the way she’d always wanted to. He respected her abilities in the courtroom. But was that not the same as respecting  _ her? _

He had told John and Felicity the truth. He trusted them both with that. His advice to Barry hadn’t been about whether or not to trust Iris, just on protecting her. But Laurel’s argument had been those were the same thing.

And he was being easy on himself. He trusted Felicity to an extent. What he didn’t trust Felicity to be was safe. She couldn’t be; she wasn’t a fighter. She wouldn’t do whatever it took to survive the way he did. And he didn’t trust himself enough to protect her.

Ray trusted and respected Felicity. Instead of placing her in a position that suited his own needs, he had elevated her status at the company. Was it any wonder that she had moved on from their nonstarter of a relationship so quickly?

His default was to push people away. It had been the only way to survive on the island. And it had made him miserable, then, but it had kept him alive. Now that he was home he had family and friends he knew in his head were not about to betray him. Yet he pushed them away all the same. Was some of his pain simply his own doing? Was that what he’d nearly advised Barry to do to himself?

And here he was, wondering why he was all alone just as she had said.

His phone went off late in the morning with a text from the Central City hero.

_ I’m heading out with Iris on the train today. Promise the next time I’m in town we’ll settle the score _

Oliver shook his head. Of course Barry wanted him to be sure he hadn’t forgotten their friendly competition.

_ Sounds good. What time are you leaving? _

He didn’t have anything else going on, so he might as well see the two off. And since Iris was in the know now, he supposed he needed to reintroduce himself. Hopefully it wasn’t too overwhelming, considering how she’d first reacted to meeting him.

If Barry was riding a train with her, that had to mean she had taken the news of his identity well enough so far. Was it really that simple? Had he ruined Roy and Thea’s relationship for no reason? Pushed Felicity into the arms of another man? Driven yet another wedge between himself and Laurel?

The worst part about that particularly sharp tongue-lashing in the precinct was that he had been able to see the  _ hurt _ that lay under her tone and deep in her eyes. She’d presented herself to Barry as a qualified observer, as though what had happened between them was in the distant past. Yet her pain had been raw and real and still so very there. He couldn’t seem to shake it.

So he left the loft and took his bike over to the train station after Barry confirmed the time of their departure. As Oliver approached, he realized he wasn’t the only one there to say goodbye to the pair from Central. Laurel stood beside Iris in casual clothes; she must have had the day off, or took it off to handle this would-be case. His steps slowed, but Barry had turned and caught sight of him.

“Oliver, hey!” He reached out his hand to shake, which Oliver did so. Then he turned back to Iris. “So, um, this is still Oliver Queen.”

“Uh-huh,” she said. Her eyes were very bright.

“He’s also, uh, friends with everybody at STAR Labs,” Barry continued, glancing around as if worried that might give the whole game away.

Iris seemed to get it by the way her smile turned up another notch. “Well, then I think I owe you this, Oliver.” She stepped forward and pulled him into a hug before he could really protest. “Thank you so much for helping me and Eddie. And Barry,” she added in a softer tone.

“It was no trouble,” he said, still a little unused to the idea of people thanking him for being a vigilante.

Iris held on a little longer, and Barry gave an uncomfortable cough. Then she let go with a cheeky grin sent her friend’s way. “What?” She walked back towards Laurel and embraced her as well, which Laurel seemed mildly more prepared for. “Thank you so much for helping me get all of this figured out.”

“I was very happy to. And I’ll be keeping an eye out for your byline in the future.”

Iris laughed and pulled back. “I don’t know. I got pretty lucky in breaking this story, meeting the one person who knows Oliver here.”

“We go back.” Laurel shrugged. Yet as she looked between them, Iris’ smile froze.

“Wait. Oh my God. I knew I’d read your name somewhere! You and he—”

“Uh, yeah.” Laurel looked down. Was that red creeping up into her cheeks?

“We go back,” Oliver echoed, hoping to avoid the conversation.

Barry seemed to pick up on the need for distraction and said, “Iris, we gotta board the train. We’re gonna be late.”

“Well, it’s not you if you’re not late,” Iris remarked, but grabbed hold of the handle on her rolling suitcase anyway with one hand while taking Barry’s hand with her other. She glanced back once at them excitedly and leaned in close to talk to Barry as the two hurried towards the train.

He was pretty sure he still picked up a whispered, “They  _ dated _ , Bear!” Judging by her grimace, Laurel heard it, too. They both watched Barry and Iris board the train, the two waving back at them once, and stood there as the doors closed and it pulled out of the station.

Others began to walk away from the platform, but Oliver took a step towards Laurel, ending up right at her side.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“I guess you were right. Things seem to be working out well with them.”

Laurel nodded. “I hope so. In any case, that’s one more person he has supporting him. Little less lonely, I hear.”

It took him a moment, but then he recalled one of the first few conversations he had had with Laurel on a rooftop, back when he was still being called the Hood. God, he really had been fighting with himself even then on this issue. “Yeah. You’d be right about that, too.”

She turned her head finally to look at him. “I realized I wasn’t being totally fair the other night.” 

Oliver raised an eyebrow, but waited for her to continue.

“You’re not the only one that’s been keeping secrets. I’m going to tell my father about Sara.”

Oliver felt some of the tension he’d been carrying around dissipate, but new nerves were quick to take its place. “How do you think he’ll take it?”

“It won’t be well. I’m so worried,” Laurel confessed with a deep frown. “But I can’t keep putting it off.”

No, he supposed she couldn’t. It wouldn’t be fair or respectful to Lance. “Whatever happens, I’m here for you. The whole team is.”

Laurel’s look softened. It wasn’t a smile, but it was hard to smile when talking about something like this. “Thank you.”

She was going to pull away. He could feel that building, the shift in her stance. Hadn’t they said everything they needed to? Or at the least left it implied, the way they always did.

But it wasn’t fair and it wasn’t respectful. There was one more thing, and he knew it. Laurel knew it. Hell, Ted Grant knew it. If he was going to be that good person Barry still believed had survived the island, if he was at all the man Laurel had seen in him once before, he couldn’t leave things the way they were.

“Laurel.” He reached out and touched her arm. She stilled and looked down at the contact. “Did you...do you have work today?”

“No. Why?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to train together.” When she looked up with complete shock, Oliver knew he’d made the right choice. “I don’t need another protege, but I do need a friend. And friends help each other.”

Her lips slowly curved up, and it soothed some of that pain from the other night away. “Can I grab my gear on the way?”

“Sure.”

They turned, and Oliver shifted his arm so that hers was looped through his as they ascended the steps of the station together.

Because the thing was, Laurel wasn’t just ‘the girl’ anymore than Oliver was just ‘her ex’. What they were seemed indefinable at times, deeper and stronger than a simple friendship. Maybe someday he’d know the answer.

But for now, this was enough.


End file.
